Shades of Gray
by Lunar-ninja
Summary: Her friend Mikey helped her arrest her abusive father five years ago. But now they meet again and find that a foe who had been thought gone has returned to wreak vengeance upon the turtles. What can she do in the midst of turmoil?
1. An Old Friend

**Disclaimer: **I never have, never will, and never did own the TMNT. I do own Anna, and this plot, however.

A/N: (grins guiltily) Alright, you caught me! I'm finally doing a romance, though why I can't say. I was reading the reviews for The Angel Swear and a plot bunny attacked me. So, I suppose you can dance for joy. (annoying chant: "LN wrote a romance, LN wrote a romance!") By the way, Dragon Moon will get updated soon enough, but in the mean time…

**1.**

_It was a breezy when she met him again for the first time in five years. She remembered when she'd first seen him with a smile. It had been winter then, and he was wrapped up so tightly you could not see his face. Of course, with his physical appearance, it wasn't much of a surprise. Green, short, a mutant turtle with an impeccable sense of annoying humor. She loved him for that. Every Christmas after the time he knocked out a bunch of thugs in her alley, he always left a present, having to do with her conspicuous love of Justice Force comics._

_But getting back to the main event…_

I rolled my wheelchair down Central Park's path, making for my favorite bench. Gusts of gentle wind ruffled my dark auburn hair. Leaves crunched under my wheels as I continued rolling to that bench, remembering five years ago. _Oh, Mikey, I wish I could see you again…_I arrived at my destination and adjusted my gray scarf before lifting myself out of my wheelchair and setting myself down on the sun-warmed wood of the bench. I sighed and closed my eyes, envisioning Mikey. I'd only ever seen his face, but that was good enough for me. He was so beautiful, in a way I can't describe to this day.

Giggling made me open my eyes again. Across from me in the leaf-littered green grass were two children playing tag. It looked so fun, I wished I could join them. But my disease made it so I couldn't even walk for fear of breaking a bone. I thought wryly of what Mike would say to that. He'd probably force milk down my throat with a tube, knowing him. I pride myself on being a rather good judge of character, and Mike just struck me as that type of person.

Having brittle bone disease really sucks when you want to be the active fifteen year-old that you should be. My dad used to think I was useless too. I grimaced at the memory and rubbed my neck where the knife scars still stuck out. He was crazy. Luckily I worked up the nerve to tell a kind policeman about it (Chief Sterns; you wouldn't believe what a nice guy he is if you look past that cranky exterior) and he had dad arrested. He threatened to kill me when they took him away. I sincerely hope they have him in a straitjacket.

Something to the far right caught my eye: a short stocky fellow wrapped up in a brown trench coat, a fedora, and an orange scarf shuffling down the pathway. Wait…orange? My heart started thumping harder than it had for a while. As he neared the bench, I lifted my hazel eyes to his chocolate brown ones. He halted in mid step and stared at me.

A voice I'd been longing to hear for five years emerged from behind his scarf. "Anna?" he whispered.

I scowled playfully. "Good grief, Mikey, where on Earth _have _you been?"

His eyes crinkled into slits, proof he was grinning like a fool. "Around," he answered, sitting beside me. I reached out and pulled him in for a gentle hug.

"I've missed you," I mumbled into his trench coat, inhaling the longed-for scent of potato chips and pizza.

He glanced behind me and grinned even wider. "Still got the Old Beater, have you?" he asked suggestively. I nodded with a chuckle and let him out of my hug. We looked at each other for a while, and I ended up blushing for no reason.

"Gosh, you're a babe, Anna!" Mikey sniggered, ruffling my hair.

"Oh, shut up, you old reptilian fart," I grumbled, flushing hotter and looking away. I do believe he had the statement right, to a certain degree. I had grown a bit, but I was still shorter than he was. Nuts.

"Embarrassed?"

"You wish."

He chuckled. "So, how've you been, Juliet?"

I gently punched him in the arm. "Just fine, thank you Romeo," I shot back.

"Pining for me long?" he asked with a wink.

"Ever since I hit puberty and actually got interested in the male gender." He started laughing. I had to keep a straight face to let him know I was serious.

His grin vanished into a serious look. "Anna, did you ever take care of your father like I told you to?"

I nodded, self-consciously rubbing my neck again. "Um, yeah…there was a news report on TV about it two years ago, the day I got him arrested."

Mikey inched closer to me without me noticing it. "I remember that," he growled, seething. "I wanted to kill him when they told of all the things he'd done to you."

I smiled wanly and laid my hand on his three-fingered one. "That's ancient history now, Mike. Just let it go." He breathed for a while before lightening up.

"Sorry," he muttered, then grinned. "By the way, I have to tell you what I did you Raph yesterday…" For the next ten minutes he told me of all his escapades. Raph seemed to be the main target, but I had to ask him midway who Raph was. He smacked himself in the head, berating himself for never telling me. So he did. Evidently Raph had been sleeping when Mike went into his room at the dead of night with a giant rubber cockroach in his hands. Using twine, he tied the roach to the ceiling directly above Raph's head and got the satisfaction of hearing his brother scream like a girl.

I laughed so hard I thought my ribs would break under the strain. "…And then, I used Leo's katana for a meat cleaver!" Mike crowed, wincing. "Boy, was he ever pissed at me! He cornered me in the dojo and proceeded to beat the crap out of me!"

When I'd finally recovered enough breath to speak, I just dissolved into giggles again. "They sound like fun to live with!" I gasped, nearly falling off the bench. Mike grabbed me at the waist and pulled me back up, saving me a sure fire broken arm. "Thanks, Mikey," I snickered.

The turtle grinned. "Hey, that's a great idea?"

"What?"

"You should come meet them! Oh, and Master Splinter, but don't tell him about telling you when I accidentally put hair remover in his bath instead of bubbles, okay?"

Still trying to get rid of the traces of mirth bubbling up inside me, I frowned. "But Mike, do you really think that's a good idea?" I asked, brushing a stray hair out of my eyes.

"Sure, they won't mind! Unless you do all the things I did, you'll be fine."

I giggled again. "I'll make note of that. So, where do you live?"

He looked around for a few seconds, then whispered, "The sewers."

I gasped. "Good night, doesn't it stink down there?"

He shrugged. "Eh, not if you've been living down there for twenty years." He stood, stretching his arms. "Ready?"

Reflexively, I shied from his hands. "We're not…jumping, are we?" That last time we'd traveled through NYC, I'd been in his arms and he was hopping across buildings.

"What? Don't want to?"

"Erm, I'm not sure I'd feel particularly comfortable knowing that every time you jump, my life is at risk."

He grinned. "Oh, come on, what do you take me for? An idiot with sticks for arms? Look, Anna, you're twig thin! And, no offense, but you're as short as you were when you were ten."

I made a face at him. "Thanks a lot, Mikey!" I had to squeal with utter surprise at what he did next, because out of the blue, he snatched me up from the bench and sprinted away, leaving my wheelchair in the distance. My breath was taken away at the quickness of it all. And I don't mean that hullabaloo romantic stuff where the girl claims the guy took her breath away when he swept her off her feet. I'm talking shock from how swift he was.

He was coming up on the buildings in no time at all, and leapt right onto the roof of the apartment as easily as if it were two feet tall. I screwed my eyes shut when he passed over the first gap, expecting to fly out of his strong arms when he landed. But he glided like a ghost. I dared to look around. The city lights were just now beginning to come on as dusk began to fall, throwing beautiful shades of pink, orange, and yellow onto the horizon. Below us on the streets honked traffic, the people just beginning to come home from work.

Mikey suddenly cut off my view by dropping into an alley. _That _scared me thoughtless. "Well, that was fun, wasn't it, Anna?" he asked with a grin that told me he'd enjoyed it far too much.

"I never want to do that again," I told him, feeling my face turn pale with the aftereffects of the rooftop-hopping journey.

"Which tells me you do." I resisted the urge to slap his arm. "Hang on, babe, I'm gonna put you down a minute, 'kay?" _Babe! This is going a bit towards the love side, _I thought with alarm as he set me on the cobbled ground of the alley. With a soft grunt, he pried off the manhole cover and set it aside. He picked me up again and before I could even think the words "Holy Heaven!" we were in the sewers.

I inhaled the odor of musty water and other things best left undescribed with a wrinkled nose. "Good God, Mike, this stench could kill a wild boar!"

"Countless gallons of stinky water a day keep the scientists and researchers away!" he replied cheerfully, putting me down on the slimy cement and climbing back up the ladder to pull the lid back into its indent. I screwed my face into a grimace and tried my best to deal with the warm, stagnant smell as I waited for Mike to come back down. There wasn't a sound. Panic began worming its way into my stomach, its cold tentacles chilling me.

"Mikey?" I whispered, looking up the ladder. The lid was still off and cold air was filtering inside. I shivered. _Where are you? _It seemed like an eternity before I heard anything. And what I heard didn't make me feel any better.

Several mutterings came down. "I'm not gonna ask you again, freak, where are your buddies at?"

"Don't ever end a sentence with a preposition," Mike shot back cheekily.

"Where are your buddies at, _crap hole_?" The man hissed angrily, and the hollow thud of a person's back hitting brick came to my ears. I had clamp my mouth shut to keep from screaming Mike's name.

"Like I'd tell you, loser," the turtle grunted. Somebody groaned on ground level and a form coming down the ladder blocked the dusk light. I readied myself to clock whoever it was in the groin. I was determined to make them feel hellish pain, even if I had to break my fist to do it. When I saw the green foot on the last ladder rung, I was relieved.

"Mikey," I whispered as he picked me up. "Don't you ever scare me like that again!"

He smiled grimly. "Sorry Anna."

"What happened up there?"

"Nothing good," he muttered. "We gotta get to the Lair fast! Hang on tight!" With that, he shot off into the darkness, with me in his arms.

* * *

Yes, you must hate me for such a sudden cliffie, huh? Well, that's too bad. Review please!

Ashite Imasu,  
LN


	2. Meet the Family?

**Disclaimer:**All I own in this story is Anna. Nobody else.

A/N: I'd just like to say hey to all the people who reviewed! Nice to know you care! (hugs **Chibi Rose Angel, Aaron Smiley, Aries Zodiac, Jessiy Landroz, Michan Starfire, Ramica, BubblyShell22, **and** pacphys**) I didn't expect to receive so many comments for a romance! (sighs with downright gleefulness) **Iwansi:** "She's gone mad with power." Hey, you're not supposed to be in here!Get back into Dragon Moon, not here!Out, out, OUT! (pushes the yellow dragon out of the room) But anyway, in this chapter, I had to write purely on imagination, since I've no clue how abusive a drunk may get. I didn't mean for it to become angst, but it's transformed. _Italics _are thoughts and flashbacks.

**2.**

For the longest time, Mikey ran through the sewers. Every step spiked my anxiety a little more than the last. I longed to ask him what happened on the surface level, but I knew by the fire in his eyes I shouldn't. So I let him carry me. The darkness was beginning to scare me; so stifling and hot. Its dark tentacles quickly strangled the few streams of wan moonlight that struggled down through the drainage grates. Cars beeped and honked angrily, drivers yelled expletives at each other on the surface level. Rats skittered along the sides of the sewers, squeaking when Mike passed them by. I realized with a shudder, that those ebony blobs were cockroaches.

I looked back up at my carrier. He seemed frightened. And even though I'd only seen his real face once, it was enough to tell me when he was feeling downright uneasy. This was one of those times. His deep brown eyes had lost their mischievous glitter, now only staring dully ahead into sewer pipelines. Every now and then, those eyes would return my gaze and he'd venture a quick reassuring grin before becoming the emotionless machine I'd now come to hate.

He dipped in his running and I noticed we had entered a long tunnel, the sewer water flowing out of the opening he had come in. His trot slowed to a wade, as the current of the water forced him to shuffle his feet. "Mike, is everything…alright?" I finally ventured. The silence was enormous and I wanted to hear him speak again.

"Peachy, babe. But can you be quiet for a little while longer?"

This was vexing me! That time he met me on the bench in Central Park, he'd been the annoying little kid you find popping party crackers at inappropriate times during a wedding ceremony, or waving his brother's Care Bear boxers in the air at his graduation and screaming "Go get a girlfriend, Blaine, or these things are going to Rex!" But now…I hated this. I shifted myself in his arms as he nimbly hopped over a sluice. The stench took my mind off of Mike for a while, but soon enough, it was back to ruminating.

Suddenly, Mikey slowed down noticeably. We were coming to a wall. It didn't look too special; a dead end, pipes running from top to bottom across it, pressure gauges pushing their needles up and down, steam seeping out of the pipes. Like I said, nothing special. But then he repositioned me to his hip and let me stand on my own two feet so long as I held onto him for dear life. My leg muscles hadn't been used for a while.

He put his left hand on mine in reassurance before reaching out to a fuse box that looked quite mediocre. There was a battered combination lock on the door of it, which Mike quickly twisted around to the left and right until it clicked open with the squeak of old gears. He hooked it in his belt and proceeded to open the fuse box. What I saw was entirely different from my assumption. Inside was a keypad, its numbers glowing green and its screen blinking with the words: "Password:". Mikey grinned at me before punching the numbers faster than I could follow his finger. Different notes came out of the fuse box, and I realized it formed a song. A song is rather hard to describe in writing, so I'll just say it sounded like a cartoon's theme.

Mike finished with that, hurried to a pressure gauge, and yanked it down. Steam shot from the pipes in thin tendrils as he went to a third item, me following because I would have fallen down without his support. The turtle punched a brick that looked obscure enough, and to my surprise, it pushed inward. A low rumbling traveled up my legs and into my head, making me shiver. Mikey backed up a few feet, and before I could see why, I was blinded by light. As soon as I could see again, he had walked me forward, and the door (that's what the wall was) had shut behind us.

We were standing at the entrance to a cavernous inhabitation, full of doodads and little touches that made it more of a home than a cave. Intricately carved pillars of stone held up the second floor, which was about twenty feet higher than the floor. To the far side, I saw a sign that had apparently been vigorously pounded into the wall by a hammer. It read "Sewer Sweet Sewer" and I could almost agree. This was probably better living than I had had in my younger days as a child.

"So, what's your first impression, Anna?" Mike asked, inhaling deeply a scent of incense and pizza.

I looked around a bit more. It was clear they'd been here a long time. "I think you live comfortably enough, Mikey," I teased, pointing to the wall of TVs to the right.

"Aw, those are my babies! Daddy missed you, babies!" I giggled as he put me down on the floor and ran to caress the monitors and kiss his DVDs with the tenderness of a father to his daughter. He gave the remote a long drawn out lip-locker, then proceeded to make out with each TV. That makes twelve Mikey lip marks on the screens. I pity the person who has to spray those puppies with Windex.

"Mikey, what in heaven's name are you doing?" In the blink of an eye, he had me in his arms again. Without a second thought, he paraded out into the center of the Lair and held me up as if I were his trophy for giving the most hideous kisses to electronics. "Mike, for the love of Pete, put her down before you break her in half!" Another turtle, similar to Mike in species and form, yet shorter and wearing a purple bandanna, trotted out of a subway car with an oily rag in one hand and a screwdriver in his belt.

"Aw, c'mon Donnie, I'm being chivalrous!" _This is the Mikey I know and love_, I thought with a squeal as he threw me into the air and caught me again.

Donnie huffed as he lowered me down. "Women aren't toys, Mike, don't treat them as such," he muttered. "And since when do you know the meaning of chivalrous?"

"Since I snuck onto your computer and went to the dictionary! It was the word of the day!"

"It's sneaked, Mike, not snuck, and I have a password on my computer."

Mike had to put me down for his next action. "No secret of yours is safe in this Lair so long as I, Michelangelo, Agent 008, continue to thwart your evil plans for world conquer!" He struck a comical pose that looked like a copy of the man who had been the first to scale Mt. Everest.

Don sighed and threw up his hands. "That's it, no more comics or Mission Impossible for you, Mikey!" To prove his cunning, Mike started humming the theme from Mission Impossible and began slinking sleazily away toward another room. "Raph's not feeling very happy with you, Mike, you'd better leave – Ah, I rest my case," the turtle mumbled into his palm, which he had just slapped onto his face.

The reason he'd cut himself off was simple: a brown bullet, Mikey presumably, since he hadn't taken off his trench coat, dashed out of the room he'd just entered. In hot pursuit was a different turtle, darker in skin tone, wearing a red bandanna, and looking royally ticked off.

"Mikey, you get back here!" Raph bellowed. "I'll teach _you _to put a cockroach over my bed!" Mikey was obviously having fun taunting his brother. He was running backwards, making faces under his fedora. Suddenly, he tripped over a crack in the floor and fell back onto a skateboard lying prone on the bricks. He rolled away, yelling fit to summon a S.W.A.T. team, and rolled up a ramp, crashing through a paper door crisscrossed with brown wood.

Don turned pale and groaned. "Uh-oh, Mikey, you're in trouble now…" Mike hopped out of the room, no longer in his topside outfit, and looking as if he was being chased by the devil himself. I soon found out why he had run at such a scalding pace. Out of the wrecked door there came an old gray rat, about four feet tall and looking quite (sorry, pardon the pun) cheesed off with Michelangelo. I wasn't expecting this and jumped in surprise.

"Sorry Master Splinter!" he called back as Raph once again took up chase. Master Splinter lashed his tail back and forth, sighing.

"Michelangelo, Raphael, cease!" he commanded, just loud enough to be heard over the ruckus they were causing. They both halted, Mikey ready to fall flat on his face and Raph, who had been in a precarious position to begin with, on the floor because his balance had been skewed and he landed unceremoniously on his rear. "I would have thought that at twenty years of age, you would have discontinued these childish ways!"

"Erm, obviously not," Mike ventured lamely, falling forward with a loud yell as Raph yanked his legs out from under him.

"Both of you! Katas in the dojo! I shall inform you when you may stop!"

"Hai, sensei," both sighed as they got up. Raph glared at Mikey with a fire almost similar to what I'd seen in only one other person. My vision began going blurry and my mind was unreasonably paralyzed with fear. That glare was the same look my father gave me. The room swam before me as I began having flashbacks I could have lived without.

"_Anna, get back here!" _

_I crawled into the closet and yanked the door shut, hardly daring to breathe in my terror. Daddy was mad with me, but the reason I didn't know. I just came home, he held up a piece of paper and started yelling at me. He must've been drinking that nasty brown stuff._

"_Anna, you open thish door!" he roared, speech slurred from the beer. He rammed it with his side and it took all my willpower not to unlock it and repent. I hadn't done anything to deserve this! Why was he so mad? He said a few bad words that mommy told me never to say and pulled on the doorknob. "You shtupid kid, come outta there and take your medicine!"_

"_No, daddy!" I cried. "You'll hurt me!"_

"_I ain't gonna do nothin' to you, now get your butt out here!" I knew this was wrong, I knew he would hurt me, but I cringed and unlocked the door. He pulled it open, and I saw that his face was red. He growled and grabbed me by the neck. _

"_Daddy, please," I gasped, struggling in his grip._

"_You needa be punished for thish, you good for nothing kid!" he snarled, throwing me roughly on the ground. I whimpered when my arm almost shattered because of the impact. Then I saw him take out the knife. I screamed as he stabbed into my neck with it, digging it into my skin, causing blood to flow…_

"No, please, not again!" I sobbed, curling into a little ball. "It hurts, stop it!"

"_Mommy, why's daddy so mean and grumpy?"_

_She sighed and smiled sadly at me. "Anna, I should've known from the start he wouldn't make a good father for you. Daddy gets mad because of the stuff he drinks."_

"_You mean that gross brown bottle?"_

"_Yes, beer. Let me ask you something, Anna," she said, lifting me onto her lap. "Do you think daddy still loves you?"_

_I looked at the floor. "No, I don't," I admitted._

"_Honey, love isn't just food, and providing for someone. It's hugging when they're sad, laughing when they're happy, helping them when they fall and can't get up. There's one such person that will be meant for you, dear."_

"_What's his name?" I asked._

_She smiled down at me. "Mothers don't know these things," she explained gently. "You'll be the only one who does when you see him. Your heart will jump when he looks at you."_

My mom faded away into blackness that formed the angry man who was my dad. "Get away! Leave me alone!" I whispered.

"_Let me go, Shophia, she needs a leshon in reshpect!" dad snarled. My mom grabbed him on the arm and tried to hold him back while I inched backwards from him. _

"_No, leave her be!" He wrenched his arm out of her grasp and hurled her into the wall. She groaned and slumped to the floor, her beautiful blond hair in disarray._

"_Mommy," I whimpered, cowering in the corner._

"_Just shut up and lishen!" dad roared angrily, advancing on me. "You're no good, you'll never be! You're ushlesh, Anna! Ushlesh and ash good ash dead! If you were more like your brother," he growled, pointing at Jarod. He smirked at me. "I wouldn't have to punish you!"_

"_But dad, all he does is bad stuff," I pointed out, cringing at the look dad gave me._

"_Stop talking!" Dad ran towards me and as I ducked, he punched a hole in the wall. Drywall and plaster rained down on me in flakes as he pulled back his fist again. "Hold still!" The next time, I wasn't able to move quickly enough and he brought his hand down on my head, knocking me into the wall and cracking my skull. I cried as he did it again…_

The flashbacks faded as I lost consciousness.

_What did I do wrong?_

* * *

(shakes her head) Now, don't you people get all worked up because of what her dad did to her. You may want to kill him, but refrain from doing to. Please review!

Ashite Imasu,  
LN


	3. Disagreement

**Disclaimer: **I own only Anna and her family. No way, no how do I own anything that pertains to the TMNT universe.

A/N: I really must apologize for the severe lack of updates on this story. I did have a very bad case of writer's block. Sorry for making you wait approximately two months for this! Oi! The woes of an authoress. Anywaay…This chapter will not have Anna's POV in it, but a more general POV. You'll see why. I must drool over these comments first. (drools) Okay, done. Thanks a bunch **Jessiy Landroz**,** Ramica**,** Chibi Rose Angel**,** pacphys**,** Kiko Kamia**,** Chu**,** Mewfem**,and finally, **amyea. **I love you all for your kind words of encouragement! (hands out freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies to all)

**3.**

"How is she?" Mike asked nervously as Don exited his room. The turtle gently closed the door and looked at his brother.

"Sleeping," the genius replied with a sigh. "Mercifully, the flashbacks only lasted for a few minutes after she fell. But…" Don furrowed his brow and leaned heavily against the stone wall. Anna had been sleeping, yes, to a certain degree. It was a fitful rest at best. He connected eyes with Mikey, the line of the stare communicating countless questions. "What happened to her, Mike?" he inquired softly, resting a hand on his brother's shoulder.

The turtle in orange clenched his fists in barely-contained anger, taking deep breaths. "It was her dad, Donnie," he finally said. "He…I can't bear to say the words that would describe him but he abused her. Badly." Don's eyes reflected concern as he took a tentative glance toward the door. "I've known her for a while too," Mike added as an afterthought.

"How long?"

"Five years this Christmas. She was ten." Don muttered something darkly under his breath. "Did you…happen to see scars on her neck when you put her in bed, Don?"

He rubbed his forehead as though he had a migraine. "Yes, Mike, I did. Knife wounds by the look of them." His brother nodded and stared off into space. It occurred to Don that Mike might feel a bit more for Anna than just friends by the look of passionate disgust on his face, but he shoved the thought away. He, despite the turtle's likeliness to find a mate, could not possibly see the gregarious Michelangelo in love. It would be too weird, too odd for him to consider. What were the chances somebody would love them back?

Suitably depressed by these thoughts, Don's eyes drifted to Raph, who was stubbornly fixed in front of the TV. Mike had gotten certifiably angered with him when Raph showed no more than a passing look of surprise in his countenance when Anna collapsed, writhing, on the floor of the dojo. The turtle in red seemed a tad disturbed but huffed without another word and sat down by the tube. He was currently watching a documentary on a disease called _osteogenesis imperfecta_, more commonly known as Brittle Bone Disease.

Mike apparently caught wind of the name on his extremely acute hearing, because he made for the couch and sat down on it, eyes glued to the screen in concentration. Don knew of the affliction quite well. Caused by an abnormality in collagen protein, the condition increases the likelihood of bone fractures. It also caused far more severe bruising than normal, and the possibility of deafness. What Don wanted to know was why Mike seemed so interested in the disease.

He joined his two brothers on the couch as the narrator began to spell out the symptoms in his extremely monotone voice. "Why the interest, Mike?" Don asked, looking at the aforementioned turtle's face. It was aglow with TV light. He could barely hear Mike grinding his teeth in frustration, something he rarely did. Raph's occupation was usually the angry activities.

"What I wanna know is why the shell he brought _her _home," Raph muttered.

Mike shot him a fiery glare. "Raph, you're really getting on my last nerve," he growled. "Drop it." Don scooted farther down the couch until he was at the armrest. If Mike was ticked, there was no telling what he might do. He knew they never gave him enough credit for a temper they thought didn't exist. He masked it masterfully behind a façade of grins, jokes, and laughs. But this event with Anna brought out the beast in him for some reason.

"…Why, Mike? Do I _annoy _ya with my voice?" Raph sneered, getting in his brother's face.

"I said knock it off!"

"Oh, and why should I listen? You could've very well brought home our doom!" Raph snarled. That was most definitely the last straw. Before Don could blink, Mike had wound up and clocked Raph in the beak, the force of the punch sending him flying off the couch and sliding on the floor. The turtle in purple gaped as his angry brother on the floor picked himself up, wiping the blood from his mouth away with a fist. "So what, Mikey? You wanna fight? I got no problem with that. Just don't come cryin' to me when that broad betrays us to Purple Dragons!" he bellowed, launching himself at Mike. Don cleared the couch with a yell as the two crashed down on the cushions he had recently vacated.

The turtle watched from a safe distance, panicky thoughts running wildly around his mind. _Dang it, what now? Raph and Mike never get in fights…Shoot, I wish Leo was here! Why'd he and Master Splinter have to go out for groceries right now? _He moaned inwardly and clutched his head as the two grappling brothers knocked over a lamp in their titanic struggle. _Okay, think Donnie. What usually calms _Leo _and Raph? _Turning out the lights. But shell knows where the switch was. There were boxes piling up where it had been. Casey and April, married now, had generously given them things the Turtles could use in the Lair far better than the Jones could use it in Casey's run-down apartment. Most of it had been put to good use.

_Cold water? _No way. Raph and Mikey were now on their feet, throwing punches and various kicks in front of the kitchen. Mike landed a Dragon Kick in Raph's midsection, sending him sliding back a few feet.

"I don't know what your problem is, Raph!" Mike shouted, eyes burning with rage as he took out his nunchakus.

"The problem is you brought home a complete stranger!" he hissed in reply.

"She's not a stranger, she's a friend!" he roared with a few choice expletives to boot. "That's the truth, dang it!" Mike dashed at Raph, his weapons whirling like a flurry of angry wasps. He slammed forcefully into his brother with a shoulder, punching him hard in the gut. Recovering faster than lightning, Raph blocked the next blow, letting a nunchaku twirl around his recently removed Sais.

"Y'know what your problem is?" Raph growled venomously. "You think you can trust every stinkin' bum you find on the street!" The Lair was alive with the sounds of a battle now, the clangs and thuds of steel hitting wood reverberating off the walls. _They're going to wake up Anna with this ruckus! _Don thought hurriedly. Determined, he crept around his fighting siblings.

"Guys, knock it off!" he cried authoritatively.

"Shut up, Donnie, and beat it before I punch you too!" Raph snarled. _Do I go for a nerve pinch now? _Don huffed exasperatedly. There wasn't any possible way for him to get behind either Raph or Mikey without getting something painful in return. Finally, he took out his Bo and jumped straight into the fray, smacking both on the plastron to knock them apart.

"Get a hold of yourselves!" Don growled, eyeing the two dangerously. "You're twenty years old! And you're fighting like little kids!"

"Nobody asked you," panted Raph in exertion, brandishing his Sai.

"Well, I'm answering!" he spat back, taking a defensive stance. "I want both of you to cool off. Now!"

"Yes Daddy Don!" Raph said sweetly. In a movement completely unforeseen, the turtle in red smacked his brother to the ground with a roundhouse kick to the chest. "Shove it, Splinter Jr. the second!" he snarled, going after Mike again. Don coughed and struggled upright, muttering a curse. The fall had twisted his ankle weirdly.

"Raph, that was uncalled for!"

"You just keep out of this! What's uncalled for is Mike bringing that kid here!"

Mike let out noise of animalistic fury at his last stab at Anna. "I told you…" He sprinted toward Raph. "…To shut up!" He tackled his brother to the floor, flipping up again to land on his feet. Don gritted his teeth and closed his eyes against the headache that was now pounding his skull like a bass drum. He had to do something before one of them killed the other! He swore when Mike took a fall credited to Raph's feint punch and leg sweep.

"Oh no…" Don whispered, eyes widening. Raph was angling his Sai for Mike's throat as he rushed on the fallen turtle. "Raph! Stop!" The turtle didn't falter in his deadly charge. He was on top of Mike, ready to plunge his weapon down, when a small voice cried out, "Leave him alone, Dad!" Don, leaning heavily on his Bo, caught a glimpse of a small object flying toward Raph's head right before it hit him, shattering upon impact. It was the teacup that Don had seen on Mike's nightstand.

Kneeling on the floor by the door was Anna, pale, sweaty, and deathly frightened. "I said leave him alone!" she said again, tone shaky and thin with fatigue. Raph's eyes drooped and he fell backwards.

"Mike, I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me…"

The turtle in orange quietly got up, putting his nunchakus in his belt. "Raph, you're only frustrated. So am I. That's the only way to look at it." He walked away toward Anna, leading her back inside his room. Raph looked to Don for support but all he replied with was: "Nice going Raph." Don started limping in the direction of his lab when the Lair door opened and in walked Leonardo and Master Splinter, weighted by bags of groceries.

Leo immediately caught the air of unrest, halting. "Alright, guys, what happened while I was…" He glanced at Don, who was leaning on his Bo like it was his lifeline, and at Raph, a bruised and scraped testament to the fight earlier. "Don?"

The turtle in purple sighed and shook his head. "I'll leave that to Mikey and Raph, if you please." He hobbled away, his ankle clearly hurting, entering his lab with difficulty.

* * *

Now, everybody mustn't hate Raph for this. Change is pain for some. And he's got issues with bringing people home. :P I will say that the thing that greatly affected the outcome of this chapter came from Tigerfog's glorious fancomic MNT Gaiden. Read it. It's good. As for Anna, we'll get more angst yet. (evil cackle) Please review, this authoress loves comments. See that little blue button down there? Yes, the one that says 'go'. No, you don't collect 200$ if you go past it. Neither do you go to jail. My A/N may seem slightly less loopy but it's only because I've got a sore neck and I'm tired. BTW, got a parade next Sunday. Teh Mother Goose Parade. Five stinkin' miles long.

Ashite Imasu,  
LN 


	4. Killing Dreams

**Disclaimer: **Gee, you think I own 'em NOW? Nope. Never in my life have I had a ninja turtle at my beck and call.

A/N: (kicks self in butt) I'm such a bad updater! I swear I am! (bites and chews thoughtfully on Lharom's tail) Lharom: "Get OFF." (flings LN into the wall) Thanks a lot, you big chicken! Anyhoo…you guys may thank Askre and sunnysunshineRM from Stealthy Stories forum for needling me into a fourth chaper…and the angst commences! Thanks ever so **Jessiy Landroz, Ramica, Chibi Rose Angel, Mewfem, **and my honorable mentions who reviewed on Stealthy Stories but not ff dot net,**Askre, and sunnysunshineRM. **Thanks for giving me a kick in the pants, guys!

**4.**

The first thing I remembered when I woke up was quite frankly, fear. My memories had stopped their brutal assault, but it didn't mean they wouldn't come back. Fighting a growing headache, I moaned and buried my head in my pillow, hearing voices outside the door. One was angry and stern, tenor by the sound of it. A nice voice to listen to. The other one, rough and quiet, had a hard accent to it. That was…oh, what did Mikey call him? Raph. That was it.

It all came back in a rush. The look of protective fury in Mike's eyes, his tense body language, his scrapes. The fight. My arms weakened. I had hit him in the head with a tea cup. Raph. Fighting off a wave of nausea, I turned over in the warm bed and shivered, feeling horrible. I had caused this by coming down here. If only…if only I had just told Mike off. But no. I couldn't do that. Not to him. Not to those kind brown eyes that held the world inside them.

I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair, combing the snags out carefully. _I really shouldn't overstay my welcome. _Carefully easing myself up, I swung my legs out of the bed. I would have to crawl if I was to do anything like walking. I reached my bare toes down for a floor I thought for sure I could find simply by touch, but I couldn't reach it. Braving myself, I slid off the bed, grabbing for the nearby nightstand when I found that the floor was a little lower than I would've liked. Unintentionally, I let out a cry of pain when my right leg screamed from the impact. _I hope I didn't break it! Stupid! _I berated myself, not in the least surprised when somebody flung the door open, shedding light on the dark room.

"Hey, are you alright?" asked the tenor voice. A gentle but firm green hand took my arm in it, lifting me up and setting my on the bed. "You really shouldn't try getting out by yourself like that." I looked up at him, my deep red hair falling into my eyes.

"Leo, did you wake her up after I gave you strict orders not to?" came Don's cross question from the door. He was leaning on his bo heavily, ankle bandaged.

Leo smiled and shook his head before straightening. "No, Donnie, she fell out of bed."

He snorted, "A likely story. And if she did, please bring her to the lab so I can check for breaks," before hobbling away. I grimaced when my leg reminded me of its near fracture.

"Here, let me help," he offered.

"Thanks," I croaked, surprising myself with my own dry tone.

"I suppose you'll need water too." He gathered me in strong arms and heaved me up. "Do you ever eat?" he asked seriously, staring at me with twinkling gray eyes. "You're light as a feather." Without waiting for a reply, he carried me out in a stately walk. On the far side of the large mat in the center of the Lair, I saw a gray-maroon figure standing by a pillar, talking to the very person I had practiced my softball throwing skills on with a tea cup. He looked a bit tired as the person reprimanded him. "Don't worry about Raph," Leo said nonchalantly, as if sensing my thoughts. "He's just that way sometimes. He doesn't take well to strangers."

"So I noticed," I replied weakly.

I felt Leo shift, as if he was uneasy with something. "You'll get used to him." As I was about to ask what he meant by that, he ascended a short flight of steps into a cluttered subway car. "Alright Don, she's all yours." He set me down on a conveniently located cot and winked at me. "If he pulls out a needle, run like mad."

The aforementioned turtle popped out of a pile of books and wires and scowled at Leo. "If you weren't so bent on hurting yourself with various sharp objects, I wouldn't have to fight the infection!" he growled, wrestling something out of his pile. "Now beat it, Leo, I've got stuff to do." The other turtle's eyes crackled with indignation but he left in a huff. "Everybody's on pins and needles these days," Don grumbled, hopping on one foot towards the cot.

As he set up his equipment, I tried to get a better look out the half-curtained window to my left, seeing nothing but smooth tan stone. Heaving a sigh, I let the muttering Donatello run a bulky machine over my leg and heard him snap something on it. "Well, that's it. You cracked it," he grouched, stuffing the thing into a box nearby.

"Sorry," I whispered.

He rubbed his face. "S'not your fault anyways. I just wish Mikey had thought to bring your wheelchair so we could've avoided this." He looked me straight in the eye, a dry smile on his lips. "Just make sure you don't overexert yourself when you try to get around. Ask one of us for help, alright? Brittle bone disease isn't something to sneeze at." I nodded silently, staring into empty space. _I wonder how he found out…_I thought. Where was Mikey? Did Raph hurt him? _I hope I didn't offend anybody_, I thought, cringing inwardly. That teacup looked like it was - "You okay?" he asked, frowning now.

Fumbling for an excuse, I looked down at myself, seeing various splotches of sewer grime on my jeans and sweater from when Mike had set me down on the cement before. "Oh, um…I was just thinking that I…um," I stammered, blushing hot red.

"Need a shower?" he suggested. I went an even brighter tinge. _How could he ask that so casually? This is a house full of…_

"Donnie! Get yer butt out here! April's got that…_thing_ you wanted!" Raph bellowed.

"Knock it off, Raph, he lives in the same district as you do!" somebody feminine said with a laugh. "You don't have to yell." Raph grumbled about not being appreciated before saying, "He's in the lab," and falling silent. Light footsteps came towards the subway car and finally, a woman of twenty-eight appeared in the door. After pursing her lips at me, she smiled. "Hello, who are you?"

"Anna."

The woman winked at me and said slyly to Don, "Getting serious about your love life, Donnie?"

Don stood up and grabbed his staff, giving her an overly sweet smile. "I'll see you _later_ April," he muttered, hobbling out the door.

"He's grouchy today," April told me with a slight smile, setting an angled bag on a nearby table. "So, how did you get dragged into their pitiful lives?" she asked.

"I heard that, April, and we do _not _live pitifully!" somebody randomly shouted. It was hard to discern whose voice it was.

She chuckled lightly. "Kidding, Leo," she called impishly. Another person snorted. "You don't look like the normal injured folks they bring down here for recovery," April observed quietly. I shook my head slowly. They took others down here for medical assistance? I guess that would explain the various apparatuses on Don's desk. "They've had quite a few lately," the pale-skinned woman continued. "There's so much gang activity above ground it's scary." She looked thoughtful.

Suddenly a red bandanna-wrapped head popped in through the door. "Hey! Lunch's ready for anybody who's alive in here!"

"Oh, is Mikey back?" April asked eagerly. Something stirred angrily within me at the comment, but went back to rest when she said, "If he made pizza, I think I'll have to leave Casey at the apartment for a little while longer. Are you coming?" Her next question was directed at me. I sat where I was on the cot, blinking at her.

"Oh, Ape, I'll take care of it," Raph said gruffly. "Just get your butt in the kitchen. Leo's shoveling it down like you wouldn't believe."

"So he _did _make pizza!" She exited the train car and could be heard squealing at Leo to leave some for the starving people.

Raph diverted my attention when he cleared his throat. With nobody else in the room, my heart started racing with fear. Images of his rage and the look of animalistic murder in his eyes flashed. He started toward me. With every step, he transformed into the one man who had nearly killed me. The green skin on his head morphed into wild brown hair. Piercing green irises took on drunken fury in bloodshot blue. The memories started flooding through the crack in the dam that had been erected in my mind to keep them in.

Before any could take hold on my and throw me into a state of paralytic shaking, two warm hands grabbed hold of my arms and gently squeezed. The contact with my limb was established in my mind as a threatening gesture. After all, that man who had sired me did it many a time with his only intent being to hurt me. Red flashed in my vision as I saw blood spatter on the floor.

"_Mommy!" I cried. "Mommy, no!" Her body tumbled to the floor, motionless where it landed. No spasms, no rise of the chest. Nothing that proved she was alive. Blood gushed onto the carpet from the large cut in her stomach. Those lovely gray blue eyes that had always comforted me stared at the ceiling in macabre fascination. I clutched her pale white arm and sobbed where I lay, my drunken father somewhat shocked out of his stupor._

"_Outta the way," he growled, calling me a name as he pushed me aside. "She ain't dead, she jus' bleedin' a lot…" he slurred, tottering toward the phone. My heart blazed angrily as he dialed for the police and mumbled into the mouth piece, saying his wife had just slipped and fallen on a knife. He kicked me as he passed, going for his room to lie on his bed while mommy lay on the floor. That walking pile of dung just slashed my mother open with a knife._

_I took her lifeless hand in mine and cried until it hurt to force out the tears._

"Anna! Anna! Snap out of it!" Somebody was shaking me just under the category of roughly. Almost sickeningly fast I popped out of the horrible prison that is my mind and saw a green face looking down at me through my tear-blurred eyes. It was Raph.

I couldn't help it. Struggling to banish the last of the flashback, I shrieked as he held me down.

There were yells of surprise, some indignant as they fell out of their chairs with the volume of my outburst. I writhed in Raph's hands, sobbing. He was coming. He would find me and kill me, just like mom. And he would do anything to get me where he wanted to do it. Clearly confused, my would-be comforter tried to hold off my hysteria, firmly gripping my wrists but not so tightly it hurt.

"What the shell did you _do_, Raph?" somebody shouted. I saw Don's face pop up from behind him through salty tears.

"_You just shut up, Anna! Can't you do anything right?" he roared, backhanding me across the face. I fell onto the floor, hot pain lancing up my arm as I broke the worst of the impact. He cursed. "I ask you to do one simple thing and you can't even accomplish that?" He picked me up and shook me by the shoulders._

"_But…but daddy…" I whimpered as he slammed me into the wall and held me there. "I w-would've done what y-you said b-but y-you t-told me you changed your mind and – "_

"_Quit puttin' words in my mouth, you idiot!" With frightening strength he threw me across the room, thankfully landing me on the couch. My back still protested at the rough treatment. I cringed. Why was he so angry? It was his fault he forgot what he said within five minutes of spouting it from his mouth. It was simple enough. A trip to the electronics store across the street from our apartment. He wanted a few batteries for something or other. But just as I was rolling out the door in my wheelchair he grabbed me and asked me where I was going. It went downhill from there._

I started breathing faster, the enormity of my panic reaching full scale. I couldn't see anything but my mother's murderer's ugly face leering at me from the depths of my eyelids. He grinned maliciously and brought a gun up. "Die," he said coldly, and pulled the trigger. There was no boom as the nonexistent bullet tore my flesh open. I cried out as agony ripped up my shin.

"What do we do? She's gonna break more than a leg if she keeps this up!" I heard Raph say.

A firm voice paid no heed to the turtle but instead commanded, "Move!" Coolness erupted on my temples as pressure eased away my worries. The black abyss that had opened before my eyes slowly closed off, taking with it all of his lasting poisonous effects. Blurred shapes took form in front of me. First was the utterly surprised face of Raphael. To his left (or my right) was Mikey, looking scared as heck and concerned as a mother hen. Then was Leo, his expression unreadable. April hung close by. Don stood on the other side of Raph, then a gray rat in a maroon kimono.

I finally realized that the thing that had cut off my panic attack was the rat's dexterous fingers. Then, as if loathe for me to forget I had it, my leg screamed pain at me, which I voiced in a whimper. Don was the first to break the uncomfortable silence. "You gave us a scare, Anna!" he said, furrowing his eye ridges. My heart started to slow back into its normal pace.

Leo's eyes were steely. "Mike, I think we as a family need to have a talk about something," he said quietly. "Splinter, may we use your room?"

The rat paused to look at me. "No need to ask, my son, for I shall be joining you. Donatello, you may tend to the young lady before joining us. Miss O'Neil…though I feel you must be included, I must ask you stay with Miss Anna for the time being."

April bowed. "Yes, Master Splinter."

"Come, my sons," he said to the three who weren't staying. "Let us go." They exited the car. Mikey lingered at the door, staring at me, before muttering an angry phrase and leaving.

Don massaged his temples and sighed. "This'll be fun," he said with a sigh, rattling off to April the things he'd need for a cast.

* * *

Aaaaan that's all, folks! Tune in next time to find out what Splinter and the gang talk about...Council of Elrond...REBORN! BWAHAHAHAHAHA! (evil laughter as LN runs away to start burning a random lizard with a fire brand)

Ashite Imasu,  
LN


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